Michael Ray Richardson 1980

LeRoy Neiman made this watercolor painting of Michael Ray Richardson in 1980. It’s all about speed and motion, captured with these quick, wet-on-wet washes. Neiman’s a master of letting the colors bleed and blend, like he’s trying to catch a fleeting moment, not just the player. Check out how the ochre background kind of vibrates with energy. The figure of Michael Ray is built with these bold strokes of color – pinks, blues, and greens that aren't exactly realistic but totally capture the energy of the game. The paint’s thin, almost transparent, which gives it this light, airy feeling. Look at his right arm; the green just thrown in there suggests the muscle, the dynamism, it's like he's using color to sculpt the form in real-time. Neiman’s work always reminds me of someone like Toulouse-Lautrec. He also had that knack for capturing the essence of a moment with just a few strokes, and recognizing that paintings are, at their core, about embracing the messy, imperfect process of trying to see the world.